Battling Foreign Developers Over Caribbean Coastlines

For over two decades, the Pink Sands Beach Bar served as a social hub for residents and the occasional visitor on the small Caribbean island of Barbuda. Miranda Beazer, the establishment’s former owner, recalls it as a welcoming gathering spot where people played dominoes and unwound after Sunday church services. Named for the rosy hue of its sand, the bar was integral to the local culture until Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017. The storm forced the evacuation of approximately 2,000 Barbudans to the neighboring island of Antigua, resulting in the destruction of both Beazer’s home and her business.

"It was devastating. There wasn't anyone who escaped unscathed," Beazer recounts. "I cried for two weeks."

Before she could reconstruct the bar, her husband passed away. During this period, foreign investors approached her with substantial offers for her property, but she declined every proposal. "My goal isn't the money," Beazer explains. "I want to keep my land." However, bulldozers soon arrived. Beazer alleges that foreign developers demolished the hurricane-ravaged remnants of her bar. She has since engaged in a legal battle to reclaim access to the property, though the situation is complicated by Antigua and Barbuda’s unique land tenure system.

Under local law, land ownership in Barbuda is communal rather than private. Citizens hold the right to occupy plots via leases, but ultimate ownership rests with the community. This collective system, rooted in the post-slavery era of 1834, grants citizens the right to be consulted and to have veto power over significant developments. The Barbuda Land Act, passed in 2007, officially codified this framework with government recognition. Beazer holds a lease for 30 acres of coastal land but currently accesses only eight acres.

The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), which is providing legal support to Beazer, asserts that the remaining land is being illegally occupied by foreign entities Murbee Resorts and Peace Love and Happiness (PLH). In response, Murbee stated it is a lawful leaseholder and has not constructed on any land beyond its legal authority. PLH claimed it has never occupied the land and has strictly adhered to all agreements since leasing property in Barbuda in February 2017. Despite these denials, Beazer and other local campaigners remain determined. "If you were to ever come here and experience it yourself, you would really understand why we're so committed to this little piece of rock that we have," she says.

Beazer’s property represents the final accessible section of Barbuda’s southern coast for locals. Like many beaches across the Caribbean, it faces pressure from wealthy developers aiming to create exclusive tourist enclaves, often at the expense of local access. Just a few miles from Beazer’s plot, actor Robert De Niro and Australian billionaire James Packer are developing The Beach Club Barbuda through their firm, Paradise Found. The 400-acre project, scheduled for completion later this year, will feature the Nobu Beach Inn, a luxury hotel comprising 17 villas, alongside 25 beachfront residences.

Locals report that they are now barred from visiting or even viewing the beach where the resort stands, following the construction of a bypass road that encircles the development. Plot prices at the site reportedly start at $7 million (£5.2 million). While the resort’s website promotes it as a "rare Island community on one of the Caribbean's last untouched shores," John Mussington, chairperson of the Barbuda Council, contends that such a "community" exists only by violating the 2007 Land Act. To allow co

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-05-20 23:19:14 UTC